MILWAUKEE: MILWAUKEE (AP) - Two pitches into his spring training return, the Brewers' most important player tried to prove his point.
Home run, Ryan Braun.
Now let's see how he fares when the games count.
Bolstered by the return of Braun from a 65-game doping suspension and the signing of free-agent starter Matt Garza, Milwaukee enters the 2014 season hoping it has the pieces to contend again in the competitive NL Central.
Braun has vowed to return to his 2011 MVP form.
''I think the expectation is to have an opportunity to compete to get back to the playoffs. That's our goal, I think it's realistic,'' Braun said during spring training in Phoenix.
Staying healthy would help, too. Besides Braun's suspension, injuries sapped much of the Brewers' power last year with projected 3-4-5 hitters Braun, Aramis Ramirez and Corey Hart each missing various lengths of time. Hart never played because of a knee injury.
Hart is gone, but Braun and Ramirez are back and bolstered by new team cornerstones who emerged last season in Carlos Gomez, Jean Segura and Jonathan Lucroy.

WASHINGTON: WASHINGTON (AP) - Thanks in part to No. 1 overall draft picks Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper, the 2012 Washington Nationals were considered an up-and-coming team, perhaps a year or two away from contending.
So what did they do? Went out and led the majors with 98 wins.
Thanks to that quick rise, the 2013 Nationals became a popular pick to go to the World Series. So what did they do? Stumbled at the start and missed out on the playoffs.
Now here come the 2014 Nationals, featuring largely the same roster - including Strasburg on the mound, and Harper in left field, both feeling good after offseason surgery - and with rookie manager Matt Williams replacing Davey Johnson, he of the ''World Series or bust'' proclamation.
One key difference: The club knows what it's like to experience a truly disappointing, worse-than-they-were-supposed-to-be season for the first time since moving from Montreal in 2005.
''We got ahead of ourselves a little bit. My take on it was always: Last year in spring training, we had expectations on ourselves, really, for the first time, and we thought we were better, maybe, than we were,'' reliever Tyler Clippard said. ''We came into the season expecting to win, which is a good thing. But at the same time, we might not have went out there and earned it, like we should have.''
Yes, the team that got Strasburg and Harper thanks to consecutive 100-loss seasons is trying to deal with lofty goals.
''To see the organization from basically, literally, the ground up, improve is something I kind of take pride in, because when I signed, people would be like, `Oh, you play for the Expos and the Nationals,' and they'd be like, `Uh, OK, I don't know them,''' said shortstop Ian Desmond, drafted by Montreal in 2004. ''And now, it's like there's some pride behind playing for the Washington Nationals.''

After their NL Central lead dwindled in the weeks leading up to the All-Star break, the Milwaukee Brewers knew it would be paramount to get the second half started on a positive note.

The Washington Nationals opened theirs in negative fashion, and now find themselves again trailing Atlanta in the NL East.

Milwaukee seeks a third straight win as it sends Matt Garza to the mound to face Washington on Saturday night in the nation's capital.

The Brewers (54-43) led St. Louis by 6 1/2 games June 28, then proceeded to drop 11 of 13 and went into the break leading the Cardinals by one and Cincinnati by 1 1/2.

Milwaukee wasted little time getting back on track following the layoff Friday, as the second batter of the game, Scooter Gennett, hit a solo homer and Khris Davis hit one in the second inning of a 4-2 win over the Nationals.

Aramis Ramirez added a two-run single in the third for the Brewers, who had Jean Segura back in the lineup a week after he left to be with his family following the sudden passing of his 9-month-old son.

Segura went 1 for 4, and manager Ron Roenicke said before the series opener that he wasn't sure how often the shortstop would play in the coming days.

"I don't know if this will be an on-again, off-again thing with him," Roenicke said. "Some days he may not be there to play."

Garza (6-6, 3.69 ERA) certainly has been on lately, going 4-2 with a 2.35 ERA over his last eight outings after a frustrating start to the season.

He brought his ERA below 4.00 for the first time since mid-April with a two-hitter to beat Cincinnati 1-0 on July 5 before giving up two runs in 7 2-3 innings of a 9-1 loss to Philadelphia on July 10.

The right-hander had a no-hitter through six against the Phillies before they broke out for seven runs in the eighth.

"It happens, man. My job is to not get guys on base," Garza said. "But it is what it is. You turn the page."

Garza gave up three runs and struck out seven in seven innings against Washington on June 23, but he was outdueled by Gio Gonzalez in a 3-0 loss.

Gonzalez was slated to start this contest, but he missed the Nationals' workout and his bullpen session Thursday after one of his flights back to Washington was canceled. He'll instead pitch Sunday, while Tanner Roark gets the ball Saturday.

Roark (8-6, 3.01) is shining in his first full season as a starter, allowing two earned runs or fewer in 12 of 18 starts. He allowed one run and four hits in seven innings of Sunday's 10-3 win at Philadelphia.

"I'm pitching with confidence," Roark said. "That helped me get out of a jam a couple of times."

The right-hander will get his first look at Milwaukee while trying to help the Nationals (51-43) win for the third time in four tries. They dipped to second place with Friday's loss and the Braves' win over Philadelphia.

Washington, which won 10 of 14 prior to the break, went 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position. Bryce Harper went 3 for 4 and hit a solo homer in the ninth after going 3 for 29 in his last nine games before the break.

"It's a question of us not taking advantage of the opportunities," manager Matt Williams said. "But, that's why we play tomorrow."